What Should Have Been
by lindsay77
Summary: This is a 3 shot based on what i wanted to see happen with Lila's birth.
1. What Should Have Been

Sam looked at Sonny and tried to find the same feeling she had months ago but she couldn't. All she saw was the man that was asking her to risk her child's life for the sake of his. She knew that Sonny was her baby's father as well but right now, she couldn't view him that way. Her first instinct was to turn to Jason and ask him what she should do but she couldn't keep putting him in between her and Sonny. It wasn't fair to him. "There is a 10% risk to our child if I agree to induce labor, right?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

She watched him nod his head and say "But there is a 100% chance that she could save Kristina's life."

Sam's anger rose at his words. He was blatantly choosing to save Kristina's life at the possible expense of her daughter. Sam wiped the tears that were flowing down her face as she looked up "And this is Kristina's only option?"

"Yes." Sonny said.

Before anything else could be said, the door to the chapel opened and Alexis and Ric walked in. by the look on their faces, Sam knew that they knew what Sonny was going to ask her. Hell, it was probably Alexis's idea. Sam glared at the woman that not 24 hours ago she felt bad for. Alexis stepped forward and said "I know that what we are asking you is unimaginable, but…"

"You have no idea what you are asking me. You have kept Kristina away from her father for her entire life because you didn't want to put her in danger and now you are standing here asking me to put mine in danger." Sam said in a tense voice. "Don't you dare stand here and try to say otherwise." She finished.

"Sam, Kristina s going to die. The is no hope other that you baby. You have to do this. There isn't any other option for my baby. Your will be fine. Yours will live no matter what but you will kill mine if you don't do this." Alexis said.

"Sam, this is Kristina's only hope. Do you really want to be responsible for a child's death when you know you could have helped?" She heard Sonny say.

"Sonny…" Sam heard Jason start to say "No, Jason." Sam interrupted him "Let Sonny say what he has to say." Sam turned to look at her baby's father.

"That baby is healthy, Sam. There is nothing wrong with her, but Kristina could die at any moment." Sonny said with a pleading look. Sam took notice that not once had Sonny referred to her daughter as his. "Kristina need these cells to live. I just found out she is my daughter, please help me keep her."

Sam shook her head and wiped the remaining tears away. "Ok, I will induce labor." The little girl's parents all exhaled as Sonny smiled at her "Thank you so much, Sam." He made a move toward her but Sam held up her hand "Save it. Because I have a few conditions." Sam turned to Alexis and said "This will not concern you so get out and go tell the doctor that Kristina will get the stem cells." She glared at the other woman.

"Sam, thank you…"

"Don't! I am not doing this for you. I am doing it for my daughter's sister. And you will both stay the hell away from me from now on." Sam didn't give them another look before she turned back to Sonny. She heard the doors open and close and sent a hilling look to the man she foolishly thought she loved.

"You have made it more that clear which daughter you value and love the most and it is not the one inside of me. You have put on a really good show the past few months pretending that you care about her when in reality, all she is to you is a possession. And not a very valuable on at that. So you will never be allowed near her without me present." Sam said to him.

The cold look that came into his eyes didn't scare Sam. All it did was add fuel to her anger. "You will not keep me from my daughter, Sam. We already discussed this and you said that you would never keep me from her."

Sam shook her head and said "That was before I realized just how little she means to you. After all of this is said and done, and if nothing happens to my baby then you will have very limited access to her. You will not be allowed in the delivery room and you will not be allowed near me. You will not be allowed to see her before me, you will not be allowed to see her at all if I see fit. I will make sure the chief of staff, Alan Quartermaine, is aware of that before anything happens. And I swear to God Sonny, as I stand her in this chapel, if anything happens to my daughter then you will pay for it with your life. If I lose my daughter, then you lose every last one of your kids. I don't care what you, Carly of Jason says, you will pay so I would pray to the God you love so much that nothing happens to her. Now, go back to your daughter and you leave me and mine the hell alone." Sam told him fiercely.

Sonny made a step toward her but was pulled back pretty forcefully by a very angry Jason "Did you not hear her?"

Sonny was in complete shock. "Jason, what the hell are you doing?"

"Something I should have don't a long time ago. You have pushed this way too far, Sonny. You just guilt tripped a mother into risking her unborn child's life for your own gain. You just proved that you don't love this baby. You just proved she means nothing to you but she means everything to me." Jason said. "I let myself believe that you would be a good father to this baby because you are one to Michael and Morgan but I was wrong. She isn't even born yet and you have already failed as her father completely."

"That is my daughter, Jason…" Sonny said in an angry voice.

"No, Sonny, she is my daughter. I am the one that was at all of her doctor's appointments and at the sonograms. I was the one that talked to her every day. I was the one there the first time that she kicked. I was the one that reassured Sam about her fears of being a mother. You don't even know your own daughter's name." Jason said as he stepped closer to the man he had once admired above all others "I will be her father and if you want Sam to induce labor then you will sigh away your rights to her. I will not let Sam do this until you do that."

Sam gasped, she couldn't believe what Jason just said. Her entire pregnancy, Jason had made a point of telling her what a good father Sonny is and will be to her baby. But the entire time, Sam knew, she just knew that Jason would be more of a father than Sonny. And no he knew it too. "You are blackmailing me?" Sonny asked.

"I will do whatever I have to do to keep my family safe and you being around Sam and the baby is not safe. You don't care about them at all so just do us all a favor and stop looking at this baby as a thing and realize that she is a human being. One that you know you don't want." Jason glared at him. Sonny looked at his best friend and then to Sam and saw the hope in her eyes. She wanted him out of his daughter's life. A part of him wanted nothing more than to fight with them, but Kristina need those stem cells and if this was the only way to get them then so be it. He would deal with them later.

"Fine." Sonny said. Sam let out the breath she had been holding. "Call Justice and get the paper work started ASAP. My daughter's life depends on it." Sony pushed past Jason and left the room.

Jason got his hone out and called his cousin. Justice promised to have the papers down within the hour. Sam walked over to the candles and stared at the picture above them that everyone prayed to so much. She felt Jason put her hands on her shoulders as he came up behind her "Sam, you don't have to do this."

Sam shook her head "They will never leave me alone, Jason. If I said no, they would keep at me until I went into labor for real just from all the stress." She looked into the eyes of the man on the stained glass "I just need to have faith. That everything will work out the way it should."

Jason stared into the room where Sam was being set up in. Dr. Meadows had reassured Sam that there only a 10% risk involved and that her and the baby's chances of making it through this was more than a sure one. It seemed to calm Sam down some but Jason could see that she was still on edge. "Jason?" he turned and saw his mother sticking her head out of the room. Sam had wanted her and Emily there. While it started off kind of rough considering the lie, Monica and Sam had bonded a little and Emily loved Sam like a sister already. "They are ready to give her the Pitocin." Monica told him.

Jason made his way into the room and saw Sam laying on the bed and she was real still and quiet. He walked next to her beside and sat down on the bed next to her hip. He picked up her hand and Sam gave him a nervous smile. "Justice gave Sonny the papers and he sighed them." Jason told her and watched her smile turn genuine.

But it fell as she said "Jason, I am so sorry that you are in the middle of all of this…" Jason shook his head and said "I'm the one who's sorry. This is the way it should have been all along. I should have paid more attention to the way Sonny was acting. But I promise that he will not hurt you again."

"Jason, you really need to stop making all these promises to me" she said teary eyed "you're going to make me think you care about me." She joked.

Jason knew she said it to try and make him laugh but he just brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it and said "I do." Sam's breath caught as she looked into his eyes and saw the truth. He pulled his lips from her hand and leaned his forehead to hers. Sam closed her eyes and allowed the tears to flow down her cheeks.

Monica and Emily looked on as Jason finally admitted it aloud. Monica could not be happier. She had never seen her son so happy then when he was with Sam. She made him smile and laugh. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him. And she was glad that he was finally allowing himself to feel it. Emily smiled as her brother took hold of his happiness. She had worried for so long that he would not let anyone in. she knew he had married Courtney but she knew he wasn't really happy. Courtney didn't accept all of him. Not like Sam did. Sam never made Jason feel guilty about his work or judged him for it. She made him incandescently happy.

Sam held on to Jason's hand as her doctor inserted the drug into her IV. "This will take a while for most women but the contractions could start within a few hours. Once they start you should start dilating. We will go from there. But for now, just try and relax and rest. Pretty soon you will be holding this beautiful baby girl." Dr. Meadows smiled at her.

Sam nodded her head and she took a deep breath. She looked at Jason and he gave her a reassuring look "Do you need anything? Are you thirsty?" he asked her.

She shook her head "I know…I know that you said that you didn't feel comfortable being here in the delivery room…" "I'm not going anywhere, Sam." He said in a firm voice. He watched the relief wash over her and saw her start to relax.

Jason stayed by her side at all times. A few hours after the induction, Alan and Edward stopped by to see Sam. She was a little surprised by this considering the Quartermaine men had not made any qualms about not being fond of her. Alan came over to her and asked "How are you doing?"

Sam gave him a smile and said "So far so good. The contractions haven started yet. How is Kristina doing?"

"She is staying strong. I hate to do this now but we will need your signed consent to use the baby's stem cells for her." He said in a sad voice.

Sam shook her head and said "I would rather do it now. Where do I sign?" He gave her the clipboard and she sighed the paperwork.

"Justice has informed us that you are now the baby's legal father." Edward addressed Jason.

Sam smiled as Jason nodded his head "Yes, I am but it just a formality. Lila has always been mine." He said.

"Lila?" Edward asked.

"I asked Jason if it would be ok if we named her after Lila. I'm sorry, I should have asked you…" Sam started to say but Edward stopped her "No, no my dear. My Lila would have been so honored."

Sam smiled and felt her tears well up. "I um… I also had an idea for her middle name." Sam spoke up. Jason looked at her and asked "What is it?"

"I was hoping to name her after her godmother, that is if you will agree to it?" Sam looked to Emily.

Emily stood still and her eyes got big "Me?" she asked.

Sam nodded her head "You have been there for me a lot and even came to a few of the doctor's appointments. And I really like how Lila Emily Morgan sounds." Sam smiled.

Emily's eyes welled with tears as she came over to Sam and hugged the woman that had come to mean a lot to her. "I would be honored." She said through her tears. Jason smiled at the sight of his sister and Sam.

He felt his grandfather pat him on the back and say "You finally found it, my boy."

Jason looked at him and asked "Found what?"

"Your Lila." He smiled at his grandson. Alan and Edward left the room as Alan went to go and file the papers and Edward looked back into the room. He turned his eyes up and asked "Look after them, my love. Help them hold on to this happiness they have found in each other."

Sam's hand squeezed Jason's in hers as her contraction subsided. She fell back to the bed and panted as the pain went away. She had officially been in labor for 4 hours and so far, she was 6 centimeters dilated. Jason had been her rock through it all. His mom and sister had come in and out knowing the two of them would want to be alone some. The baby's heart was going strong and while it hurt like hell so was Sam.

Dr. Meadows came in and said "Let's see where you are now."

Jason brushed some of her hair out of her face. Sam's tired expression made him feel helpless and he hated it. There was nothing he could do for her and it was killing him. "Well, mommy and daddy, it looks like it's time." Dr. Meadows smiled.

"What?" Sam said on a pant.

"You're 10 centimeters dilated, it's time to push."

Sam smiled and Jason looked at her. "We are going to get you moved to delivery." Dr. Meadows left the room and a few nurses came in and wheeled Sam to the delivery room.

"Jason, you are going to need to put a gown on before you go in." Monica said to him. He looked to Sam and said "I will be right behind you."

She nodded and they took her into the room. Monica suited Jason up and he walked into the room. Dr. Meadows was settling Sam into birthing position and Jason made his way over to Sam and took her hand back into his. He leaned forward and kissed her head and looked down at her "You are doing so great, Sam. Pretty soon she's gonna be here." He smiled.

Sam nodded and said "Thank you for staying with me. I love your sister but I don't think I could have done this without you." The look that she had in her eyes wrapped around his heart and squeezed. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. He pulled bac and rested his forehead to hers "There is no place I'd rather be."

Dr. Meadows put her mask on and turned to look at her patient. She saw the embrace that they were in and hated to interrupt it. She knew that Jason Morgan was not the child biological father but he was the only one that this little girl would know love from. And that was all that mattered. "Ok Sam, on your next contraction I want you to push as hard as you can." She told her. Sam nodded her head and could feel it start to build. "Push, Sam" the doctor said. Sam held onto Jason's hand and did as told. It hurt so bad that she did think she would survive. "Ok, I see her head. You need to push really hard Sam. She is almost here." Dr. Meadows said.

"I can't." Sam sobbed.

"Yes you can, Sam. You can. She needs you to, ok?" Jason said to her. "She needs to be ere with us and the only way for her to be is if you do this. You can do it." Sam looked into his eyes and found her focus. She nodded her head.

"Push, Sam" Dr. Meadows told her. Sam sucked in a breath and pushed as hard as she could through her pain. "Her head is out. Come on, Sam you can do it. Keep pushing. Here come her shoulders." Sam pushed one last time before she heard the beautiful sound of her daughter's cry.

She looked down and saw Dr. Meadows hold her up for her to see. "Here she is, mommy." She said.

Sam smiled through her tears as she looked at her baby girl. "Would you like to cut the cord, dad?" the doctor asked Jason.

With a look of wonderment on his face, Jason nodded his head and walked over and took the scissors and cut his daughter's cord. Jason watched as they took her over to the table and cleaned her off. They wrapped her up and put a little hat on her head. The nurse came over to him and handed her to him "Would you like to be the one to hand her to her mother?" Jason nodded his head and took her.

Dr. Webber came in and gave Jason a smile and said "Congratulations." Jason nodded his head to the other man and watched him take the baby's stem cells and leave the room. He turned back to Sam and saw the tired look on her face and her droopy eyes "Lila, I want you to meet the best this that could ever happen to you. This is your mommy." He said as he leaned down and placed Lila on Sam's chest.

Sam slowly lifted her hand and placed it on her daughter's head and smiled "Hi, baby girl." She smiled down at her. Jason took notice of Sam's weakness and looked to Dr. Meadows how had a worried look on her face "Sam?" she asked. Jason looked back to her as her hand fell back to the bed and Sam go limp. Her monitors started going off "Sam?" he said, getting panicked.

A nurse came over and took the baby from him and said "We need to get her to the nursery and you need to step outside."

"No, tell me what is going on. What is wrong with Sam?"

Dr. Meadows looked to him and said "We will once we find out but you are in the way of that and we need to focus on Sam. You need to step out."

Jason was pushed out of the room as the doctor and nurses surrounded Sam. "Jason!"

He looked over and saw his mother and father coming toward him "What is happening?" his father asked.

He shook his head and said "She had the baby and then something happened. She passed out and they don't know what is wrong."

The parents noticed the scared look in their son's eyes and walked to him in support. "Jason, she is going to be ok. Everything is going to be ok." his mother told him.

Jason looked back to the room as a nurse came out and said "She has some bleeding that isn't stopping. They are going to prep her for surgery to try and get it to stop."

"Try?" Jason asked "You don't try anything, you save her!" he yelled.

"Jason…" Alan tried to calm him

"No!" Jason shouted. He gave the nurse a cold look and said "You save her." The nurse just nodded her head and went back into the room. He walked over to the window and saw then all around Sam and he closed his eyes and prayed.


	2. Faith

Jason sat by Sam's side holding her hand. She looked so pale but because she had lost so much blood during the delivery it was understandable. They had given her a transfusion and the doctors said that she was going to be ok, her body just needed to heal from the trauma se had been under. After they had taken her into surgery, Jason went straight to the observatory and watched. He had Emily go with Lila and made sure that Alan knew Sonny, Carly, Alexis and Ric were allowed nowhere near her. His father promised that she would be safe. The surgery took a little long because Sam flat-lined halfway through. Jason had never been so scared in his life then when he heard that long beeping sound.

He closed his eyes and tried to focus on what the doctors had said. They were able to stop the bleeding and they had every hope that Sam was going to be just fine. She was young and she would be just fine. He ran his thumb across the top of her hand and said softly "They doctors said that you are going to be ok and that you just need time. But I really need you to open your eyes as soon as possible. I just need to see them open. I need to know that you are ok, Sam." He did not like looking at her like this. He once again felt completely helpless. He kissed the back of her hand when he felt someone behind him. He looked over and saw Jax standing there.

They man had a somber look on his face as he looked at Sam. Jason stood up and Jax walked further into the room "How is she doing?" he asked lowly.

"The doctors say she is going to be fine but she has lost a lot of blood so it could be a while before she is awake." Jason said.

Jax walked to the other side of her and just stared at her "Is it true?" he asked. "Did Alexis and Sonny do this?"

Jason nodded his head "They both guilt tripped her onto inducing labor. They said it would be her fault if she didn't do this and Kristina died. She felt like she didn't have a choice no matter what I said."

Jax shook his head and closed his eyes "How could Alexis do this? I understand Sonny, because he is a heartless bastard but Alexis is a good person. She would never have done what she asked Sam to do."

"How is Kristina?" Jason asked.

"She's doing great. The stem cells worked and she is going to be fine." He answered.

Jason could see that Jax wanted to visit with Sam an against his better judgment, he thought it would be good for her to have visitors. "I haven't been to see Lila since Sam was brought here. Can you stay with her until I get back?" Jason asked.

Jax nodded his head without looking away from Sam. Jason leaned down and kissed Sam's head and whispered "I'll be back soon." He looked to the other man and nodded his head before walking to the door. He looked back and saw Jax sit down in the vacant chair. With one last look he went to see his daughter.

Jason looked down at the frail woman that he thought was indestructible. In the short time that he had known Sam, he had come to see the strong woman that she really was. She had been through so much in her life on the run trying to take care of her brother by any means. And he judged her for it. He had treated her horribly because he had felt like once again he had lost a woman he cared about to Sonny Corinthos. But if her had opened his eyes and seen it for what it really was, he would have saved her a lot of hurt. He called her terrible names and made her feel cheap when he should have realized what he had. If he had paid a little more attention instead of assuming, maybe he wouldn't have lost her. As much as he was starting to care for Courtney and wanted to be with her, he couldn't help but wonder what could have been.

Jax slowly reached his hand out a laid it over her limp one "I am so sorry, Sam. You didn't deserve this. You shouldn't have had this happen to you." He whispered.

Elizabeth walked into the room of Kristina Davis and saw Alexis, Sonny and Ric standing around her crib. She felt a sting of anger at the three of them for what they had put Sam through. Alexis looked over at her and smiled "Hi, Elizabeth."

Liz fought the urge to snap at her and just said "I'm here to check Kristina's vitals." She walked over to the machine and wrote down they numbers.

Alexis turned to her and said "Have you…have you heard anything about Sam or her baby?"

Elizabeth looked over to the woman and saw that the two men were staring at her waiting for her answer. "Dr. Quartermaine has expressed the importance of none of you knowing what is going on with Sam or the baby so please don't ask questions you know I am not allowed to answer." Liz said politely.

Sonny came closer to her and said "I just want to know how my other daughter is doing."

Liz was starting to get irritated so she said "Nice try, Sonny. But I along with the entire staff knows about the papers you signed giving custody to Jason. The only daughter you have is laying in that bed." She pointed to Kristina. "And after the way that you all treated Sam and that baby girl, why the hell what you want to know about her or her daughter?"

"My child was dying, Elizabeth. What would you have done if that we Cameron laying in that bed?" Alexis defended herself.

Elizabeth looked at the little girl laying in the crib and thought of her baby there. She looked back to Alexis and said "I honestly don't know what I would do if it were my child. But what I do know is that it takes a pretty evil person to badger a pregnant woman into putting her child in serious danger without any sympathy. So congratulations, Alexis, it turns out you are a true Cassadine after all."

The look of shock that came over Alexis's face told Liz she struck a nerve. She walked over to the door and opened it just as Jason was walking up to it. She gave him a friendly smile and walked around him.

Jason looked into the room that held the two people he hated most at the moment. Sonny saw him and walked over to him "Nobody will tell me how my daughter is."

Jason's eyes went cold as ice and said "My daughter, and that is because you don't deserve to know. You don't deserve to know anything but I am going to tell you anyway. Because you should know what the two of you have done." He saw the look of fear come into Alexis's eyes as he continued "Lil is fine. She is healthy and beautiful. She looks just like Sam and you can't even tell you are her biological father. It is Sam that the two of you almost killed."

Sonny shook his head "What ever happened to Sam has nothing to do with us."

"Are you kidding me right now? If the two of you hadn't guilt tripped her, she would never be laying on an operating table and flat-lining!" Jason said fiercely. Alexis gasped and cover her mouth. "Oh, don't act so shocked. You knew that there was a risk to both Sam and the baby but neither one of you cared. You didn't care about Sam or that baby. So I am here to give you a warning, Sonny. Those papers are iron clad. You try and fight them, a judge will only laugh in your face. There is no way that any judge would ever give you visitation let alone custody after he hears what you did. So don't ever try it. You leave me and my family the hell alone." Jason glared at the man he once considered a brother. He turned and walked back to the door but stopped "And if you haven't figured it out by now, I quit." He left them with that and made his way back to Sam.

Carly walked around the corner to Sam's room. When she talked to Sonny a few minutes ago, he had told her that Jason had been there saying he was banned from seeing his daughter. That didn't make any sense at all to her. Jason and Sonny were as solid as a rock. She walked up to the window and saw Sam lying in the bed with Jax sitting next to her. What was Jax doing there? She wondered. She was about to walk into the room to find out when she heard "Stop."

She turned and saw her best friend with a stern look on his face. "Don't even think of walking in there. The last thing Sam needs is you around her."

Carly stood in shock at his words. "Jason, what is the matter with you? Sonny called me and asked that I check on his daughter and Sam because you won't let him anywhere near them. This is the last thing he needs to deal with right now, Jason."

"I don't give a damn what Sonny or you want, Carly. So you need to leave." He said.

"Jason…" Carly said in a sad voice.

"What did you come here to gloat? See Sam lying in a hospital bed after almost losing her life giving birth to her daughter? Are you taking joy in this, Carly?" he asked her in anger.

Carly looked at the man standing in front of her and couldn't recognize him but she could see what he was feeling "You are in love with Sam, aren't you?" she asked

"That is none of your business, Carly. Just because you think that I own you everything doesn't make it that way."

She shook her head "You do. Jason how could you fall in love with the woman that tried to tear my family apart?" she asked in outrage.

"Don't blame Sam for your doing. I'm done sparring your feelings, Carly. It is time for you to grow the hell up and start answering for what you have done. You want to blame Sam because you are not woman enough to accept your marriage imploded long before Sam came into the picture. You and Sonny were doing so much damage to each other and it had nothing to do with Sam. She is just the one you blame because you want to act like a child. Sam did nothing to you that you didn't do to yourself. You didn't want to be with Sonny but called Sam a slut because she started dating him. Sam didn't come to town with the sole purpose of breaking up her brother's home. She came to town to try and take care of her brother. And you have the never to judge her when you have done so much worse in your life? And a part of that is my fault because I have let you get away with so much. But that is done now, Carly." He said in a stern voice, ignoring the tears in her eyes. "I am done being the one that cleans up after you and I am done with you controlling my life because it's what you want. Sam and Lila are my family now. So it is time for you to grow up and take care of yourself and your own kids. I will always be there for Michael and Morgan, but I am done being there for a woman who isn't any kind of human being at all." He turned his back to her and walked into the door of Sam's room.

Carly stood stock still at the words he just said to her. She could not believe that he had turned on her for some woman that he barely knew.

"It must hurt like hell, huh?" she looked up and saw Jax stepping out of the room. "To know that you are finally getting what is coming to you. You and Sonny both are. You see, I always thought that Jason had done Courtney wrong but in truth, if it hadn't been you pushing them together neither one of them would have been hurt." He said.

"Jason and Courtney love each other. They just need to realize it." Carly snared.

Jax laughed at her delusion "Jason and Courtney thought they loved each other because you were in their ear telling them so. Jason finally realized what you have been all along, a manipulative bitch who only wants what she wants at anyone expense. And it finally caught up with you. You can't stand the thought that Jason is in love with Sam. And don't try to delude yourself because everyone knows that those two love each other. You succeeded in running almost every woman out of Jason's life with the exception of Courtney. But you will not keep them apart. Jason will never even let you try." Jax moved to walk past her and stopped at her side "I truly hope that you and Sonny work things out and stay together because no one deserves to each other more." He walked away leaving Carly with the sinking feeling that he was right.

Jason held Sam's hand as he sat next to her. She had been unconscious for almost 12 hours. He color was back to normal and she no longer looked an inch from death. "I went down and saw Lila. That is why Jax stayed here with you. Monica and Emily are taking really good care of her but she is waiting for you to wake up, Sam. She has been waiting to meet you for 9 months. And I know how much you want to see her so you have to wake up now, ok?" Jason took a deep breath and "You don't have to worry about anything else ok? Sonny and Carly are not going to be an issue." He licked his lips and moved closer to her "I bought a house. It is not too big but it will fit us all just fine. And it has a pool because I know how much you love the water." He realized he was rambling on. He didn't realize how much her missed talking to her until she was unable to talk back. He closed his eyes and sighed "Sam, please. I need you." He told her softly, feeling the tears in his eyes start to well up. "I love you, Sam." He whispered "and I am begging you…" he stopped when he felt her hand twitch in his. He looked down at their hands and thought maybe he was imagining it. But then he saw her hand start to wrap around his.

Jason looked up to her face "Sam? Sam can you hear me?" he asked her. He watched as her eyes fluttered for a moment before the opened. The relief he felt was indescribable. To see her eyes open again made hit heart beat a little faster. Sam moaned a little in pain as she turned her head and saw Jason.

"Jason... what happened?" she asked her words a little slurred.

"Just take it easy, ok. You're in the hospital." He told her. At the word hospital, Sam's eyes got a little bigger "Jason, where is my baby?"

"Sam, you need to calm down ok, you are going to tear your stitches. Lila is fine. She is in the nursery with Monica and Emily." He told her.

Sam calmed down a little at his words and looked at him "She's ok? She isn't hurt or…"

"She is perfect, Sam. She looks just like you." He smiled at her.

Sam smiled through her tears and gripped his hand tight "We have a daughter." She said. "We have a beautiful daughter." He smiled down at her.

Just then Alan walked in and took notice of the scene in front of him and smiled "Well, it is nice to see you finally awake." He said. Sam smiled back at him and said "Thank you. Can I please see Lila now?"

"We need to get you check out first. You and your body have been through a lot in the past 24 hours so we need to make sure that everything looks ok. I am going to go and page Dr. Meadows and we will try and get you to see my beautiful granddaughter soon." He gave her a reassuring smile and patted Jason on the shoulder before he walked out.

Jason stood up and sat down beside her on the bed. "Are you in a lot of pain?" he asked. Sam shook her head and said "It is only when I move too fast. When I move slowly it isn't so bad. But I am a little sore." She said.

He nodded his head but was stopped from saying anything when Dr. Meadows walked in "Alright young lady, now that you have given us all a scare how about we see how you're doing." The older woman smiled at her. She looked to Jason and said "I am going to need you to step out for just a moment while I check her over, ok?"

Jason looked to Sam and squeezed her hand and said "I'll wait right out there." She nodded her head even though she really didn't want him to go at all. He walked out of the room and Dr. Meadows did her examination and asked her a few questions. "Well you have been through quite an ordeal but your wound is nicely secure and healing well. You will need to stay here for a few days for monitoring as will your little girl because she is two weeks premature but if all goes well you will both be able to go home together." She smiled at the new mother.

Sam was so relieved that everything was ok with Lila that she didn't care what she had to do. "So can I see her now?" she asked. "I see no reason why not. I will go and get a wheel chair and take you down." She walked to the door and Jason came right in "I get to see her." Sam said with a bright smile.

Jason walked over to her and said "Is everything ok with you?"

Sam nodded "She said Lila and I both had to stay for a few days but we should be able to go home together." She saw a look come over his face and started to worry "Did you…I mean are you ok with us still living…"

"No, no that's not it. It's just that we don't live at the penthouse anymore." She looked at him in shock "What?" she asked. "I bought us a house. With Lila we will need more room and I just…" he sighed and continued "I can live across from them anymore."

That was when Sam remembered what had happened before she gave birth "Jason…" he shook his head and said "I have put their lives above my own for too long. I finally have something in my life that is for me and all they want is it gone. I have been through this before and this time, I'm not letting it go." He said firmly. "I'm not letting you and Lila go just because it is inconvenient for Carly and Sonny. I'm done living my life for them. I am going to start living it for me and I want you and Lila."

Sam smiled at him swiped the tears from her cheeks. He sat down on the side of the bed and picked her hand up in his "Over the past few months, I have smiled more than I ever have in my life. I talk to you and I don't mind it. Having you and Lila in my life has been the best thing that has ever happened to me." He reached up brushed the new batch of tears from her eyes "You said I am easy to read but in truth I'm not. I never have been. But you read me like a book, Sam. You know me better than anyone. You know what I feel without me having to say a word. And getting to know the real you, getting to know Danny have meant everything to me. And I am not going to lose you. I can't, Sam." He looked into her eyes and said "I love you."

Sam sucked in a breath at his omission squeezed his hand "Jason, before you my life consisted of nothing but lies. Running from one town to another to tell more of them. All I had was Danny and I never in my life felt like I could trust someone with him the way that I trust you. And I never thought it was possible to trust anyone with my heart but over the past few months, I haven't had much of a choice." She smiled through her tears. "I couldn't help but fall completely in love with you." Jason smiled, now knowing that she felt the same way he did. He leaned forward and softly kissed her, careful not to hurt her. Sam paced her hands on the sides of his face and held on to the kiss for and long as she could. He pulled back from the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. The door opened just then and a nurse came in wheeling the chair. Jason looked down at her and smiled "Are you ready to meet our daughter?" Sam beamed up and him and said "More than."

Jason wheeled Sam over to the nursery window. He looked through it and saw his sister standing next to Lila's crib. She noticed them and she smiled down at Sam. She reached in softy scooped Lila up into her arms and walked her to the door. the door opened and Sam saw her daughter come closer and closer to her. Emily handed Lila to Jason and Sam watched as Jason hunched down with the soft pink bundle in his arms "Sam, I would like you to meet our daughter. Lila, this is your mommy." He said as he softly placed her into her mother's arms. He eyes were opened and she was staring up at Sam.

Sam cradled her close to her and smiled down at her baby "Hi there, sweetheart. Do you remember me?" Sam softly ran the back of her index finger over her smooth cheek. The baby cooed up at her mother and Sam felt so much love in her heart that it hurt. "How is it possible to love someone so much you have only knows a few seconds?" Sam found herself saying.

Jason smiled and said "I know the feeling. As soon as the nurse put her in my arms after she was born, I felt the same thing."

Sam smiled up and him "She is so beautiful." He placed his hand on the side of her face and said "That's because she looks just like you." the soft look that came into Sam's eyes made his heart melt. He leaned forward and pressed his lips softly to hers. Sam reveled in the feel of having the man she loved and her baby girl in her arms. The parents savored the moment as the held their family close.


	3. Home

It had been two months since Lila's birth. Two wonderful months. Sam and Lila both got to go home 3 days after Sam woke up and to say she was shocked when they got to the new house was and understatement. Even though he said it wasn't big, to Sam it was huge. It was a two story house behind a very tall gated steel fence. It had 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. The kitchen was beautiful as was the backyard. When Lila started walking she was going to have so much fun exploring it. Jason had smartly had a fence build around the pool for child proofing purposes. Jason had Lila's nursery decorated the same way it had been at the penthouse, there was just more room in it. But Sam's favorite room by far was the master bedroom. It was dark gray and white color scheme with a cal-king bed. The bathroom was to die fore and Sam could not wait sink into it. Jason had told her that this was her room but she nipped that I the bud as she walked up to him and softly kissed his lips "It's our room." She said when she pulled back. He smiled down at her and nodded his head. The first night should have been awkward but for the both of them, it just felt right. Sam fell asleep in his arms and a smile on her face. Even after having to get up a few times a night to feed Lila, she had never slept better in her life.

As Sam thought back on the past few months, she couldn't help but remember the bad as well. Sonny had tried to contest the papers he signed. He said that he signed them under duress and they shouldn't be considered legal. It went all the way in front of a judge and Sam was worried that Sonny was going to get his way yet again. After two days of hearing from both sides, the judge had made his ruling. While he understood Sonny's side, he couldn't ignore the fact that he had sighed away his rights to one child for the sake of another. It said in the paper work that Sonny was not signing these papers under duress and that he knew what he was agreeing to. The judge shook his head at him and said he should have read what he signed right before he made his ruling that the papers were legal and Sonny had no right to Lila. Sonny was furious and didn't hide it in front of the judge. He started screaming and yelling about his daughter and the judge didn't give Sam or Jason a choice, he executed a restraining order to Sonny right then and there. He was to stay away from Jason Sam and Lila or he would be spending time in a prison cell. Jason and Sam walked out of the court room and didn't look back.

Carly had posed a bit of a problem as well. She didn't seem to understand that Jason had chosen Sam over her or she was just ignoring him. It wasn't until she had made the mistake of approaching Sam when she was out with Lila that it finally sank in for her. She laid into Sam in front of Kelley's saying she was a no good slut that Jason would tier of eventually. She stood there spewing her venom as Sam held her newborn in her arms. Sam didn't have a choice but to stand there and take it. That was until Jax showed up. He got in Carly's face and called her the most selfish bitch on the planet and a pathetic person for saying the things she said while Sa was holding her daughter. Jax took Sam home and stayed until Jason got home s that he could tell him what happened. Jason was so furious. Sam had yet to see him that mad before. She didn't know exactly what happened but Carly had not been a problem since then. Every time she saw Sam in public, she acted as if she didn't. Which was just fine by her.

Sam looked over and saw Jason coming down the stairs with Lila in his arms. Every time she saw this, it made her heart flutter. She had dreamed about seeing it for months and to finally be able to see it made her heart happy. "Are you sure that you are ok with this?" Jason asked looking down at his little girl.

Sam smiled softly and said "I think I should be the on asking that." Jason gave her a look and she laughed. "Jason, it is important to me that you parents have a relationship with Lila. She doesn't have any grandparents from me. The only ones she has are yours. And with everything that they missed with Michael, Lila is kind of their first grandchild. And Edward needs her." Sam said looking down at her precious pink bundle. "Your father said that she is the reason he is getting back to normal."

Jason nodded his head. He knew that Sam was right. He had kept Michael from the Quartermaine's for years and now there was nothing he could do about it. But he could do something about them being in Lila's life. When he saw them with her, it made him feel guilty for thinking they would not be good for Michael. They all doted on her completely. Even Tracy cooed over her when she was there. Lila had brought them all back together, just like his Grandmother had always hoped they'd be. He was just sorry she was missing out on it.

"So, is everything all packed for her first sleep over and grandma and grandpa's?" Sam asked.

Jason handed her off to her mother and said "Yeah, I have the diapers and wipes. Her milk is in the cooler and everything else she should need is in the diaper bag." Sam nodded and looked down at her. She knew it was important for her to have his night with her grandparents but it was her first night away from mom and dad and Sam was anxious about it. She knew she would be fine but still.

"Ok, then. We should get going. I think that grandpa Edward has a little surprise for you." she heard Jason's groan and laughed "You knew they were going to spoil her rotten. And so are you so I don't know what your groaning about." Sam said as she buckled her into her car seat.

Jason rolled his eyes but smiled. "Tell daddy. You're the Quartermaine Princess." Sam shot him a smile. He shook his head at the nickname his grandfather had bestowed upon his daughter. He loaded them both up into the SUV and drove to his parent's house. As he pulled up, Alice met them outside to help carry the stuff in. Monica was waiting just inside the house with a huge smile on her face. Sam smiled back at the woman and set Lila's car seat on the table.

Monica came over and hugged her "How are you doing?" she asked. "Good. Lila is on a pretty normal schedule now so it has gotten a lot easier." She answered.

"And since you've had you stitches out, have you had any problems?" Sam smiled at the doctor's tone "Nope. I feel completely back to normal. Even lost all the baby weight."

Monica smiled and said "That's terrific, honey."

Jason had unbuckled Lila from her seat just as his father and grandfather came into the room "There she is." Edward said as he walked over to his grandson and great-granddaughter. He reached for her as Jason settled her into his waiting arms and smiled down at her. "And how is the beautiful Quartermaine Princess doing today?" he cooed down at her.

"I'm doing pretty good grandfather, how about you?" Dillon said as he entered the room.

Sam and Monica shared a laugh as the men looked at him and shook their heads. Dillon walked over to Lila and ran the back of one of his fingers down her cheek "How's it goin, kid?" Edward shook his head at his grandson's slang.

"Ok, everything is in the diaper bag. She usually wakes up about twice at night to eat. She is a pretty sound sleeper though." Sam said.

Monica nodded her head "I know that you are nervous about being away from her all night but you can all as much and as often as you want." She reassured the new mother.

Sam smiled and said "Thanks but I know that she will be just fine. The amount of love this kid gets over here, she'll probably never want to leave." Sam walked over to Edward and kissed Lila's head "You be good for you grandparents, ok? No being a fussy baby." She kissed her one last time and made room for Jason to say bye. Sam and Jason thanked them and walked to the door. Jason looked back at to his parents and saw their smiles "Good luck." Monica whispered to him. He nodded his head and shut the door.

Jason and Sam had been back at the house for a few hours. Jason had disappeared into the kitchen and had been in there a while so Sam decided to go see what he was doing. She stood in the door way and noticed the table set up in the middle of the kitchen. It had two candles on it and a small bouquet of flowers in the center. Jason was standing at the island putting two plates of food together. She smiled at the sight of him. He lifted his head and saw her standing there and smiled softly. "What are you doing?" she asked walking further into the room.

"Well, it is our first night without Lila and I thought that it would be the best opportunity to be able to finish a mean without her interrupting it." He answered. "Oh" Sam smiled at him and walked over to the table as did Jason with the plates of food. He pulled her chair out for her and she sat down.

The two ate dinner and talked about everything. Sam told him the Danny was really excited to come out next week to officially meet Lila. He and his teacher had made her a special gift that he was excited to give to his niece. Jason told her that things were going good at the hop. He had decided to reopen his motorcycle shop after he stopped working for Sonny. He liked working on motors and it was something that Sam could join him at after she was ready to leave Lila with a babysitter. They finished their meal and Sam helped him clear the table and pick up the kitchen. As they washed the dishes and splashed each other with the soapy bubbles, Jason realized that he had ever felt more light hearted than when he is with Sam. He doesn't have to be on edge around her, he can just be himself. Which made the reason for his decision that mush more comfortable.

They walked out into the living room and sat down on the couch. The small box was burning a hole in his pocket and he was starting to sweat. "Sam?" he said getting her attention.

"Yeah?" she said addressing him.

He reached over and picked up her hand "When you first came into my life, I thought I was just doing you and Sonny a favor. I truly did want Michael and Morgan to have their family back, but I also knew that I didn't have to have you with me for that to happen. Without even realizing it, I was making up excuses to keep you with me. And over the past few months, getting to see the real you has made me realize a lot." Sam reached her other hand up touched his face. He closed his eyes at her caress and savored the feel of her soft skin before continuing "I have never felt this way about someone before. I thought I knew what it meant to love someone but this, us, is so much more." He watched her eyes fill with tears and he reached into his pocket.

He pulled out the small jewelry box and Sam stared down at it with wide eyes. "I love you. I love Lila and the family that we have made together. But for me there is something missing and it is something that I have to ask you." Jason said before taking a deep breath. He opened the box to reveal he most beautiful ring that Sam had ever seen "Will you marry me?" he asked.

Sam stared down at the ring and then looked back up at Jason and saw something in his eyes that she had never seen in any other man's eyes before; love. He loved her. He really did love her. Sam smiled as the tears slipped down her face "Yes. Yes, I will marry you."

Jason let out a breath and felt like he could breathe again. He smiled at her and leaned in and kissed her lips. Sam held his face in her hands and kissed him back with all she had. They pulled apart and Jason took the ring out of the box and picked up her left hand. Sam watched him slid the ring on her finger and a weird feeling came over Sam.

She stared down at the ring and said "This is it."

Jason looked up at her and asked "What?"

"This is what has been missing. After I have Lila I was filled with so much love but it still felt like something was missing." She looked up at him and said "I don't feel that anymore. I feel hole now." She smiled.

Jason brought his hand up and wrapped it around the nape of her neck and pulled her forehead to his. Sam reached up and wrapped her hand around his "I love you." she said looking into his eyes "More than you will ever know."

The tears fell down her face and Jason swiped them away "I have an idea." He whispered before capturing her lips in a searing kiss. The heated kiss turned even hotter as their hands explored each other. Jason pulled back and looked down to her passion filled eyes "Sam, are you sure…?" he never finished because Sam pulled his lips back to hers and she gave him his answer. Jason scooped her up into his arms and headed for the stairs.

The next morning, Sam woke up with a smile on her face. Her body was still humming from the previous night's activities. She was laying on Jason 's chest, wrapped around him. She felt his hand running u and down her back telling her that he was awake. She looked up and found his eyes staring back into hers "Morning." She said softly. Jason smirked down at her before he leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was slow and perfect before he pulled away and said "Morning." Last night had been the best night of Sam's life. After he asked her to marry him and she said yes, they had spent the whole night exploring each other. It had been perfect. And it scared her. As if he could tell, he laid his hand on the side of her face and asked "Hey, what's wrong?"

Sam shook her head and tried to shake it off. "Sam?" he edged her on.

"I'm scared." She said softly.

"Of what?" he asked.

"I have never been this happy before, Jason. And happiness doesn't stick with me. It never has. And I'm afraid that this is all going to come crashing down at any minute." She said as tears slipped past her eyes.

Jason turned toward her and held her face in his hands "This is not going anywhere. I am not going anywhere. This is very real. And nothing is going to take you or Lila or Danny away from me. There is no way in hell I am going to let it." He said sternly.

"Jason, I have done things…"

"I do not care what you have done in your past, Sam. Because I know that everything you have ever done has been for Danny's sake. You were all he had and you had to take care of him by any means necessary, I know how that feels. Sam, I have killed to protect my family. Does that change the way you see me?" he asked her.

Sam looked at him like he was crazy "Of course not, Jason. I told you that you job is not who you are."

Jason softly caressed her cheek and said "Then how can you think I would ever judge you?"

Sam thought about what he said and realized her was right. She didn't know all that he had done in his life but she knew some of it. Just like he did her. All that mattered was that they had ended up here, together, now. "I don't love you based on your past, Sam. I love you because I know your heart. And you are the best, strongest woman that I have ever met in my life." He smiled down at her. She blushed a little and lowered her eyes but he didn't let her looked away from him "You are. Everything that you have been through and yet you still treat it as if it is nothing. You have been so strong through everything that has been thrown at you. And I promise you," he said laying his forehead to hers "that you can be strong about this. I know it's scary because it is for me too. I have never had this much to lose before and it terrifies me that I could wake up one day and you could decide that a life with me isn't what you want. But I would rather try than not. So can you trust me to keep your heart safe?"

Sam listened to him and thought about what he was saying. She didn't think that Jason was afraid of anything, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Every time he tried to make a relationship work, they had all so how broken his heart by not being able to accept him so in a way they also didn't trust him. That had never been a problem for Sam. She had never trusted someone so much in her entire life. Sam pushed him onto his back and moved herself on top of him. "You are the only person that I have ever told about Danny. You are the only person that I want to have as my daughter's father. I trust you more that I could have even thought possible. I had no idea what love was until you showed me. As scary as it is, I can't imagine my life with you in it. I finally have the family that I always wanted and I am not going to let my fears get in the way of that. I do trust you to keep my heart safe. Always." She leaned down and kissed his lips. Jason wrapped his arms around her and rolled her over so he was on top. Sam moaned as he started to kiss down her neck "Jason, we have to go and lick up Lila." Jason continued to move his kissed down lower and said "Not for another hour." Sam stopped arguing and just let herself feel.

Jason and Sam walked up to the doorway of the Quatermaine mansion and knocked. A second later Alice opened the door and smiled at them "Mr. Jason, Ms. Sam some in." she held the door open for them.

Monica was walking in from the family room with Lila in her arms. Sam beamed at the sight of her little girl. She was glad that the Qurtermaine's showed an interest in wanting to be in Lila's life but she had missed her baby. Sam walked over to Monica and said hello before reaching for her bundle of pink. When Lila saw he mother her legs started kicking and he smiled up at her "Hi, my baby." Sam cooed at her pressing kisses all over her face.

Jason came up to his girls and placed a hand on Lila's head before leaning down and kissing it. "How was she?" Sam asked Monica

"A prefect angel. She woke up once to eat and slept the rest of the night." The proud grandmother said with a smile.

Sam smiled and looked down at her baby "You were a good girl for your grandma and grandpa. I'm so proud of you." the little girl gurgled and got a laugh out of the adults.

"She is much like you, Jason." Edward said as he joined the group. "I know that it is not possible but the last time a baby this quiet was in this house, it was you." he said with a smile. He looked over to Sam and his great-granddaughter and noticed something different "Young lady, what is that on your finger?" he asked. He looked to Jason with hope in his eyes and then back to Sam.

"I asked Sam to marry me last night." Jason answered him. "And I said yes." Sam finished with a smile to Jason.

"Oh, that is wonderful!" Edward said happily. Monica came over and hugged them both while Alan, Ned, Dillon and Tracy joined them "What is going on?" Alan asked.

Jason looked down to Sam and said "Sam and I are engaged." A smile broke out on his father's face and he came over to the couple. He leaned down and kissed Sam's cheek and patted his son on the back "Congratulations." He said as Ned and Dillon came over and did the same. "Let's hope this one makes it." Tracy tried to say snidely but Sam could hear it in her voice that she didn't mean it.

"Ignore her. So have you decided when you are going to have the wedding?" Monica asked.

Sam looked to Jason and said "We were thinking late February. And we also had a place in mind for the ceremony."

Jason looked from her to his grandfather "If it is ok with you, we would like to be married in grandmother's rose garden."

Edward was shocked, but it was a happy shock. He felt his emotions rise and he smiled at them "I think that your grandmother would love for the two of you to be married there. And so would I." he said. Jason nodded his head. Edward stood back and watched as his family interacted. A family that he feared would be forever broken. Until one little lady brought them all back together. He looked to the left at the portrait of his beautiful wife. It turned out that they hadn't lost her after all. Because he knew that she was the reason Jason had found Sam and Lila. She was always the reason.


End file.
